What Is the Importance of Consoling Others About the Future When Everything Depends on Allah’s Will?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

We often hear people consoling someone like, “It is going to be okay soon, in sha Allah.” As we believe and say that everything happens according to Allah’s will, what is the importance of consoling each other about the future when everything depends on Allah’s will?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Consoling people is from the practice of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). There are many wisdoms to consoling.

It assists the person going through difficulties to have a more optimistic outlook, to have a better opinion of Allah (Most High), and to recognize that even though the decree of Allah (Most High) will come to pass, however, due to one’s response to the difficulty one will be recompensed in the Hereafter.

An Example of the Prophetic Consolation

Ibn ‘Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) narrated saying, “The Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) visited a sick bedouin man. When he would visit him, he would say, ‘No problem. Purification, if Allah wills.”

The man replied, “No problem. Purification, if Allah wills!? On the contrary! Fever boiling over upon an elderly man that may drive him to the grave!” The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Yes, in that case, it shall be such.” [Bukhari]

In their commentary of this narration, the scholars explained the wisdom of this Prophetic consolation, and the harms of being pessimistic and objecting to the Divine will:

They said, “The Prophet’s consolation ‘No worries!’ means that in reality there is no true hardship or difficulty on you from this sickness, because it is a means of purification for your sins, if you are patient and grateful.”

They continue, in explaining the harms of this bedouin’s pessimism, saying, “Due to the harsh nature of this bedouin and his ignorance, he rejected the statement of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). So the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) responded accordingly: ‘Yes, in that case it shall be such.’ From the meanings of this statement are that this sickness will not be a purification for you, as you stated. That is, if you choose to be despondent and ungrateful for Allah’s blessings upon you, then what you said will come to pass.” [‘Ali Qari, Mirqat al-Mafatih Sharh Mishkat al-Masabih]

Assistance is According to One’s Outlook

This matter can be summed up through a principle that is famously mentioned in the city of Tarim, in the valley of Hadramawt, Yemen:

al-Madad ‘ala qadr al-mashhad.

“Divine assistance is according to one’s outlook.”

This principle is an echo of the Divine statement narrated to us by the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace):

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Indeed, Allah (Most High) says, ‘I am to My slave, as he thinks of Me. If (he thinks of Me) good, then (he will receive) good. If (he thinks of Me) bad, then (he will receive) bad.’” [Tabarani, al-Mu‘jam al-Awsat]

Having a good opinion of Allah (Most High), keeping in mind the inward benefits of difficulties, and keeping the reward of the Hereafter in mind is a crucial part of thriving spiritually in the world. Consoling someone is a means to helping one’s fellow Muslim achieve these realities.

Additionally, the consolation can be treated as a supplication for the wellbeing of the person and that they be granted relief from their difficulty.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.